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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by gardenergirl on May 23, 2005, at 20:57:01
Hi everyone,
I am on 67.5 mg Nardil. I have sleep problems in that I wake up often during the night. I just started taking Ambien to help this. My pdoc also wonders if this due to remaining depression. She just added Lamictal, starting at 25 mg, with an initial goal of 75 mg. Anyone else take or have tried this combo?Anything I should watch out for with Lamictal?
Thanks in advance.
gg
Posted by SLS on May 23, 2005, at 21:40:49
In reply to Lamictal and Nardil?, posted by gardenergirl on May 23, 2005, at 20:57:01
> Hi everyone,
> I am on 67.5 mg Nardil. I have sleep problems in that I wake up often during the night. I just started taking Ambien to help this. My pdoc also wonders if this due to remaining depression. She just added Lamictal, starting at 25 mg, with an initial goal of 75 mg. Anyone else take or have tried this combo?Yup. Nardil 90mg + Lamictal 300mg
> Anything I should watch out for with Lamictal?
Success.
:-)
I'm sure you know that the necessity for a gradual titration schedule is to help prevent the precipitation of a serious rash. Other than that, you have a good chance of feeling better if you are willing to go to dosages of 200mg and higher of Lamictal. You will very likely be surprised by a transient improvement at dosages as low as 25-50mg. However, it will be necessary to continue titrating upwards to recapture this antidepressant response.
Good luck, GG.
- Scott
Posted by mamaj on May 23, 2005, at 23:05:48
In reply to Lamictal and Nardil?, posted by gardenergirl on May 23, 2005, at 20:57:01
> Hi everyone,
> I am on 67.5 mg Nardil. I have sleep problems in that I wake up often during the night. I just started taking Ambien to help this. My pdoc also wonders if this due to remaining depression. She just added Lamictal, starting at 25 mg, with an initial goal of 75 mg. Anyone else take or have tried this combo?
>
> Anything I should watch out for with Lamictal?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> gg
I'm starting out on 15 mgs of nardil and have been on it for 3 weeks. I also think its time for me to raise my dose of lamictal. i've been on 200 for a while and i've heard of many cases where it will work effectively @ a certain dose then it stops and the dose has to be increased. i really hope its that and not the nardil, since im just getting started on it. one thing i can tell you about lamictal is the higher the dose the worse my short term memory gets. ill set something down and a second later I;ve already forgotten that i set it down, or that i even set something down until i need it. it's frustrating. but, i've tried many meds before this, and this really is one of the best, i just think i am going to be one of those people who has to be on a really high dose. i always am with medicine. how is nardil working for you? is it as good as its made out to be? how long have been on 67.5, and how long on that dose did it take to be fully effective? and, how effective is it for you? mj
Posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on May 24, 2005, at 2:59:34
In reply to Lamictal and Nardil?, posted by gardenergirl on May 23, 2005, at 20:57:01
> Hi everyone,
> I am on 67.5 mg Nardil. I have sleep problems in that I wake up often during the night. I just started taking Ambien to help this. My pdoc also wonders if this due to remaining depression. She just added Lamictal, starting at 25 mg, with an initial goal of 75 mg. Anyone else take or have tried this combo?
>
> Anything I should watch out for with Lamictal?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> ggJust be sure to up the dose at a slow and steady pace. I went up to 200, and it really helped with the depression. Unfortunately when I was in the hospital they took me off it and put me on Depakote which sucks compared to Lamictal as far as I'm concerned.
Posted by gardenergirl on May 24, 2005, at 5:35:36
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil? » gardenergirl, posted by SLS on May 23, 2005, at 21:40:49
Thanks for the input. I feel quite encouraged. She did mention that 200 mg was a common dose, and she as a few people on as high as 400 mg. So if 75mg doesn't help much and I don't have any problems with it, I would be willing to go higher.
Thanks again!
gg
Posted by gardenergirl on May 24, 2005, at 5:42:23
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil?, posted by mamaj on May 23, 2005, at 23:05:48
>
>
> I'm starting out on 15 mgs of nardil and have been on it for 3 weeks. I also think its time for me to raise my dose of lamictal. i've been on 200 for a while and i've heard of many cases where it will work effectively @ a certain dose then it stops and the dose has to be increased. i really hope its that and not the nardil, since im just getting started on it. one thing i can tell you about lamictal is the higher the dose the worse my short term memory gets. ill set something down and a second later I;ve already forgotten that i set it down, or that i even set something down until i need it. it's frustrating.I would agree that is frustrating. I have some mild problems with inattention and spaciness, which get worse with stress. I would hate to have that get worse due to meds. Topamax might have made things worse for me while I was on it, but it also made me more depressed, so it's hard to figure out which was causing me to forget stuff.
>but, i've tried many meds before this, and this really is one of the best, i just think i am going to be one of those people who has to be on a really high dose. i always am with medicine.
I suspect I always will be, too. Although therapy is helping a lot, as well.
>how is nardil working for you? is it as good as its made out to be? how long have been on 67.5, and how long on that dose did it take to be fully effective? and, how effective is it for you? mj
Nardil works well for me. I don't like the side effects such as urinary retention, edema, and weight gain. I also get hyper-reflexia, but that one is actually kind of amusing. :)
I started at 45 mg and that seemed pretty good for quite awhile. I moved to 60 mg which is also good for me. My pdoc (who I started seeing after I started Nardil) had me try 75 mg to see if I could really wipe any trace of depression, but that dose was much too agitating for me. 67.5 mg seems to be the highest dose I can take, and I take that much when I am more depressed. I am dropping back to 60 mg with the start of Lamictal, though. It would be nice if I could get back to 45 mg with the Lamictal.
Nardil is the only antidepressant that has ever really worked for me. SSRI's just don't do it for me. So it has always been a trade-off with the side effects. So far it is still worth it, even if the Lamictal doesn't help.
Good luck to you. When are you planning to raise Nardil?
gg
>
Posted by gardenergirl on May 24, 2005, at 5:43:06
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil?, posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on May 24, 2005, at 2:59:34
Bummer about you being taken off of Lamictal. Did they say why? Any chance of switching again?
gg
Posted by mamaj on May 24, 2005, at 13:58:40
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil? » BIGDaddyachmed69, posted by gardenergirl on May 24, 2005, at 5:43:06
im increasing in 2 weeks so we'll see how it goes. by chance, have you ever tried wellbutrin? mj
Posted by gardenergirl on May 24, 2005, at 17:17:22
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil?, posted by mamaj on May 24, 2005, at 13:58:40
I have, yes...with Celexa. It helped some, but not enough.
gg
Posted by Phillipa on May 24, 2005, at 21:23:39
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil? » mamaj, posted by gardenergirl on May 24, 2005, at 17:17:22
How does lamictal compare to trileptal? Fondly,Phillipa
Posted by gardenergirl on May 25, 2005, at 23:42:13
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil?, posted by Phillipa on May 24, 2005, at 21:23:39
Sorry Phillipa, I have no idea. I don't know much about Trileptal at all.
gg
Posted by Phillipa on May 25, 2005, at 23:52:51
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil?, posted by Phillipa on May 24, 2005, at 21:23:39
Trileptal is the same as Tegretol except it has an extra oxygen ion which makes it a cleaner drug. Not as many side effects. Does this help? Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by gardenergirl on May 26, 2005, at 15:46:19
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil? » Phillipa, posted by Phillipa on May 25, 2005, at 23:52:51
Interesting. I've never taken tegretol, either. I really don't even know much about Lamictal. This is kind of the first time I just went blindly with what my pdoc recommended without researching it a ton first. Or without having my own ideas about what to do.
Hmmm, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Trust is good. But blind trust is a very hard thing for me.
gg
Posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on May 28, 2005, at 3:02:32
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil? » BIGDaddyachmed69, posted by gardenergirl on May 24, 2005, at 5:43:06
> Bummer about you being taken off of Lamictal. Did they say why? Any chance of switching again?
>
> ggBecause I was hospitalized due to a drug-related incident, their doctor decided my meds weren't working. He then proceeds to diagnose me as having ADHD and Bipolar I, two disorders that have never come up in my six years of therapy. Next thing I know I'm off Paxil and Lamictal and on a regimen of some kind of vitamins, Depakote, Risperdal, and Strattera. Over the next couple of days I became increasingly confused and disoriented, was given Haldol and told I would not be discharged until the following week. It seemed like noone, aside from my roommate, thought it was possible the change in medication could be the problem. They even sent me to a neurologist. Finally, the doctor took me off of the Strattera and the fog started to lift. When I was discharged I stopped taking the Risperdal, went back to see my old psychiatrist and was put on Paxil again. Once I'm stable on Nardil, I'm considering replacing the Depakote with Lamictal since depression is the primary issue. Obviously I'll have to see whether or not my pdoc thinks it's a good idea.
Posted by gardenergirl on May 28, 2005, at 12:54:03
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Nardil? » gardenergirl, posted by BIGDaddyachmed69 on May 28, 2005, at 3:02:32
Ugh, sounds like a nightmare. I hope that Nardil does the trick for you. I'll keep you posted on how Lamictal does.
gg
This is the end of the thread.
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